Indian Cooking Coaching Classes for Indian H4 Wives, Others, In Rochester, NY

Authentic Journeys
Indian Cooking Coaching Classes

Are you?
A H4 wife or dependant parent from India new to cooking and Rochester?
Looking for ways to pass time- by learning Indian cooking through one-on-one coaching in your home?
Are you an international student from India (girls, only, please)?
A working professional woman from India on assignment in Rochester, New York?

Who am I?
I am Jennifer Kumar, an American married to a Malayalee and lived two years in Chennai. My love for India and vegetarian cuisine crosses more than 10 years. I have learned how to make dishes from North and South Indian cuisines with the use of ready-made and home-made masalas and spice mixes.
More about me on my blog: http://www.alaivani.com

What kinds of foods do I cook?
Here is a sampling of foods I make:
South Indian: Sambar, Rasam, Kozhumbu, vegetable curries, puttu kadala, dosa, idli (from scratch- not the ready made batters), other types of “crepes” like besan pancake/omelet (eggless), moong dhal crepes, adai (mixed dhal crepe), sundal dishes (dry fried curries made with chenna, black-eyed peas or other beans), chutneys, others.
North Indian: pav bhaji, palak paneer (homemade paneer), dhal curries and tadkas, aloo matar, dhal makhani, chapatti, chole masala, rajmah, others.
I use readymade and home-made spice masalas. Many times with dishes I will mix powders (cumin, coriander, chili, etc) with ready-made powders (chole masala, rajmah, etc.).
If you’d like to see a sampling of recipes I make see my recipe blog: http://shakahaari.blogspot.com/

How can I help you?
Are you home-bound? Unable to drive or feel shy to go out alone during the day? Do you rely on your husband to take you to the store? Does he get less rest because after work, he comes home and has to go grocery shopping or help you adjust to the lifestyle here? I can help with all that- taking pressure off your husband, giving him much needed rest, you a companion and you a break from your daily routines.
Interacting with me, an American who is well versed and comfortable in the ways of Indian culture, is also a good bridge to American culture. Through these classes, you can gain some confidence in interacting and socializing with an American through the comfort of your Indian culture!

Coaching Class Offerings:
I am available to help home-bound Desi h4 wives and mothers to take you to the store to go grocery shopping.
A two hour class introducing you to a wide variety of Indian spices, dhals, etc.
One-to- two hour coaching classes in your kitchen cooking various Indian vegetarian foods (or American foods, too, if you so desire.)


Prices for in-home services – involve your friends for discounts:**
$15 per hour for one person
$25 per hour for two people
$35 per hour for three people
$45 per hour for four people (max)
Details on Fees:
* For car trips, an extra $10 is charged for transportation charges.
* Fees over one hour are billed on ¼ hour increments.
* Unmarried students deduct $5 per entire class fee (not per person) as a student discount.
** These are introductory prices – lower than going rates.


If this offer interests you, you’d like to participate or ask more questions, don’t hesitate to contact me:
Jennifer Kumar
jenkumar@gmail.com (subject line Rochester Desi Cooking Classes)
Phone: 585-387-9325


*I am a licensed Social Worker and graduate of a Life Coaching Program. Cultural adjustment services extend beyond the scope of cooking- I offer life skills training and life coaching services also with this same rate pricing structure (again introductory rates). See http://journeys.alaivani.com/.
Thank you and happy to help you!

Want to see Yogurt from a different perspective?

Review of Viji Varadarajan’s book, A Healthy Taste of Indian Culture: Cooking with Yoghurt
Jennifer Kumar

Americans are used to seeing and tasting sweet blends of yogurts with fruits and sweet flavorings.

Indians, and South Indians particularly don’t omit all sweets from yogurt, but we can get to taste a different side of yogurt with the yogurt dishes of Viji Varadarajan’s book, A Healthy Taste of Indian Culture: Cooking with Yoghurt- the spicy and savory side of yogurt. (Gourmand book award, image, right, click on it to see a bigger size.)

Ever tried salty or spicy yogurt mixtures? Maybe the closest Americans would get to this, without trying Indian food is through the Greek dish tzatziki- yogurt with cucumbers and dill. In fact there is a slight variation of this in the cookbook- Tamil South Indian Tzatziki better known in Tamil as Vellarikkai Thayir Pachadi. Like Tzatziki, this dish has cucumbers, salt and yogurt. Adding of oil, mustard seeds, coriander leaves, green chilies and coconut then turn this into a South Indian cool delight.

Those who know Indian cuisine also know that yogurt has a different consistency in Indian dishes than American. Viji also shows us in the introduction how to make homemade yogurt that has a thinner, and sometimes curdled appearance as compared to the American gelatin inspired blocks of yogurt.

Another interesting yogurt side dish may appeal to the Mexican in you. I like to call it Indian cooling salsa. Like salsa, but find it too spicy but just can’t stop yourself? Want a salsa that is both spicy and cooling at the same time? Try making the Thakkaali Thayir Pachadi, this yogurt tomato puree infused with mustard seeds popped in oil, salt and curry leaves is a unique substitution for salsa and without jalapenos or chilies!

In addition to a wider variety of these yogurt side dishes, there are main dishes to be eaten with rice like Mor Kozhumbu- a spicy vegetable stew with yogurt mixed in. Also highlighted is a regional specialty Paruppu Urundai Mor Kuzhumbu. I made this dish long back with the use of a recipe from a blog. That being said, Viji’s methods are much more straight forward, simple and less time consuming with very tasty results. This is a tasty dish of a spiced yogurt soup with lentil dumplings. It’s simply tempting.

And, of course no south Indian meal, Tamil Brahamin three-course meal is complete without a plate of curd rice, or thayyir sadham- which she has displayed with the addition of pomegranate seeds, irresistible in my book!

Beyond regular meal time foods, there are a few varieties of rava idli (steamed sour cakes), good tea time snacks or breakfast items, and sweet dishes like mor kali or sourdough steamed cakes and thayir badusha, which reminds me of the North Indian gulab jaman (and can maybe taste more so with the substitution of rose water). I have yet to try to sweets, but in good time, all will fall into place!

Thank you to Viji Varadarajan for creating this one-of-a-kind yogurt lover’s cookbook!

See Viji's profile, along with links to her website, Facebook fanpage, links to her other books and acquaint yourself with her friend and editor, Padmini Natarajan.

Thank you for spending time on Alaivani.com.